Anna Sahlene

Anna Sahlene is a true natural in the entertainment business. She is a seasoned vocalist and performer that has honed her skills since her childhood and the results are evident. Her soulful emotive style is a breath of fresh air in a musical climate full of female artists that are manufactured and packaged.

She started her career at the tender age of eleven working with renowned film director Lasse Hallstrom (Cider House Rules, Shipping News) starring as “Anna” in the staple hit series, “The Children of Bullerbyn” in Sweden. Hailing from a family of musicians, Anna soon after developed her vocal and musical skills, leading her to a career as a full time singer.

Anna moved to Stockholm from her hometown of Soderhamn at eighteen finding work as a session singer and later joining R&B band Rhythm Avenue, which recorded one album. She soon felt a need to grow creatively and was offered a record deal as a solo artist with Roadrunner Arcade Music. This opportunity was a turning curve in her career allowing Anna to collaborate with young Swedish producer Patrik Berger (Hilary Duff, Jennifer Brown) and, top New York writer/producer Kara Dioguardi (Celine Dion, Enrique Iglesias, Kylie Minogue). The album entitled, “The Little Voice”, would produce many great pop/rock gems, but unfortunately it was never released due to the company’s eventual bankruptcy. Anna did however get to perform with world class artists as part of the promotional campaign for the unreleased album, opening for legendary Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant and Bon Jovi.

Not one to let the business get her down, Anna moved on. In 2002, she was offered to sing in the Estonian domestic finals of the Eurovision Song Contest with the song, “Runaway”. Her electric performance was so dynamic, that she ended up winning the competition and eventually competing in the European finals and placing third. “Runaway” became a hit in many European countries, but especially in her home country of Sweden where the song became one of the biggest hits of 2002.

Later that year, Lionheart International offered Anna a record deal with idea of combining some of her unreleased material with news songs for a spring release in 2003. The album, “It’s Been A While”, once again produced one of the top hits of 2003 with, “We’re Unbreakable”. The song has proven to be more than just a Swedish hit, also charting in the top ten in Norway, The Baltics and most recently Japan, where it has become a huge hit. Not only has the song taken off, but the album has been regarded as one of the top releases of the decade in the pop/rock genre by many respected music critics in Japan. “It’s Been A While” has now also been released in other European territories such as Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Portugal.

Recently Anna has completed her second album, “Photograph” with producer Darryl Swann (Macy Gray) in Los Angeles. The material takes her in a more soulful direction, teaming up with many top Swedish and US writers including Charlie Midnight (Hilary Duff), Joe Solo (Macy Gray), Lindy Robbins (Anastacia) and Josh Deutsch (Lenny Kravitz). Anna has co-written 11 of the 12 songs on the CD, which also features a great version of Eurythmics’ 80’s classic, “Missionary Man”.